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Out-Law News 2 min. read

Most councils rely on sites without planning permission for at least 20% of their five-year housing supply


Most English planning authorities rely on sites without planning permission for meeting at least a fifth of their short-term housing supply needs, a planning consultancy has found.

Indigo Planning's research also concluded that fewer councils can meet national policy requirements for the supply of sites for housing development than are claiming to be able to do so.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires local planning authorities (LPAs) to identify, and update annually, a supply of development sites sufficient to meet five years' worth of the local housing need.

Where councils are not able to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land, the NPPF says their planning policies that are "relevant … to the supply of housing" should be considered to be out-of-date and proposed developments should be granted planning permission unless their adverse impacts "significantly and demonstrably" outweigh their benefits.

According to research carried out by Indigo Planning, whilst 67% of LPAs in England report that they can identify at least a five-year supply of housing sites, only 52% of them can actually demonstrate a five-year supply. The research found 28% of LPAs recognise that they are unable to identify five years' worth of housing sites, and 5% do not have any up-to-date data on their five-year supply.

The consultancy also looked in detail at the sites included by LPAs in their housing supply figures. The research revealed that 88% of councils rely on sites without planning permission as part of their five-year supply. It found that sites without planning permission make up more than two years’ supply for a third of councils, and at least a year of the housing land supply claimed by two thirds of councils.

Indigo Planning said LPAs relying on a relatively large proportion of sites without planning permission in their supply figures would generally be considered to have a less robust position. It said that a weak supply position could open the door for developers to challenge the five-year supply and that a review of sites without planning permission or a promoter or development partner could help developers forecast where housing pressures would be higher.

Planning expert Mike Pocock of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "It is clear from this very revealing research from Indigo that many councils have been treading a very delicate line in estimating their housing land supply. This situation cannot and will not be sustainable going forward and it reinforces the need for councils to put in place up to date local plans."

"This is all the more important following Lord Justice Lindblom’s ruling in the recent Court of Appeal case of Richborough Estates v  Cheshire East Council where he provided welcome clarification that policies which are relevant to housing should be interpreted broadly and not confined to those policies which provide positively for delivery of new housing in terms of numbers and distribution or the allocation of sites," said Pocock.

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